• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

My 77 Jazz Bass.. I am torn...

Sav'nBass

Sav'nBass

Jan 18, 2009
4,783
2,517
Virginia Beach
#1
I have a 77 Jazz Bass.. It was my first real bass... I got it in June of 77 and I paid $457.00 for it at Sam Ash in N.Y.C. on 48th St. I don't play it much anymore.. At one time I was going top sell it.. I have all the original hardware except the black pick guard, which got broken when I took it off.. so I replaced it with a tortoise shell one, which actually looks a lot better IMO.. anyway.. my dilemma is this..

I have a buddy of mine.. who has been gassing for my Jazz bass for the past 9 years.. Today he offered to buy it from me for $1000 and a 5 string P bass.. since he doesn't play the 5 ... he tried and it just didn't fly for him... but for me that's all I really play now and the main reason I don't play the Jazz .... I am seriously considering the offer.. but I have reservations .. because.. and here is the part that I am just ... kinda looking for feedback on.. That was my first real bass.. and I just feel like... I am selling one of my family heirlooms or something... I am surprised that I have the emotional attachment to this piece of wood & metal that I do... but I also see the practicality in it in that it would be played.. and I would get another bass.. one that I would play... plus with the $G I cold finally get the rig I really want which I am much clearer on now than I was about 18 months ago when I started getting my stuff together ..

(Before that I had been plying for my church and they used an Ampeg Ba115 and Avioms, which did the trick.. and at home I used my '01 SWR La15.. and since I didn't really play anywhere but home & church gear was not really an issue.. but since I joined an outside band I realized that what I had was not sufficient and I didn't want to use the church;s gear because too many people used it and if something went wrong I didn't want to be on the hook so I decided to get my own gear.. which is how I wound up here @ TB.. )

Anyway... is that silly? Even having this emotional attachment and being so torn about doing this... my logical mind says this is a no brainer... but my heart is saying How could you!!!! Is that just sillyness on my part.. or has anyone else been in this same situation...
 
#2
I think you will regret selling the jazz. You have had that bass as long as I have been alive! It would be akin to my dad selling me for a better kid! Ok, maybe not that dramatic, but I totally get you, I couldn't part with it either, you never know when you will get sick of 5 strings and only want to play that 4 string jazz again. Your tastes change and it would be a shame to remove this great bass from your stable.
 
#3
Trust me man, I've been in the same situation. I almost traded my first bass away but thankfully I was talked out of it. I can understand the emotional attachment but if you really need the cash and that 5 string sounds like something you could really play then maybe it's time.

If you love something: Set it free.
 
#5
Don't sell it. It was your first bass. Do you wish you still had your first car?

I will never get rid of my first bass (Peavey T-40). It was my very first, and I learned a LOT of lessons with it. It's not the greatest bass in the world, but it holds a special place in my heart.

Keep it.
 
#7
I have a belief that the only time it is OK to sell a family heirloom, other than desperation, is in order to buy something that is itself likely to become an heirloom, something central and core to who you are.
If the bass has no functional value, you can sell it or keep it for its emotional value. But if you do sell it, sell it for something of equal emotional and greater functional value. If not for you, for your kids or loved ones.
I have a nuber of things I don't use that I or my inherited from loved ones: a beatle bass, china, rings, etc. So far we haven't sold them, but if we do it will for something CORE and lasting and pass-on-able, not fleeting or ho-hum or extra. So far, nothing has met these criteria.
 
#11
Put me in the *sold my first good one & regret it* camp- mine was a humble Jazz Special(Duff 'sig', though that means nothing to me). I paid $447 for mine & got $450, but I miss it. I think you'll be kicking yourself soon after letting the Jazz go. Would your friend be willing to do a temporary trade- or buy the bass w/the stipulation that he has to give you first crack at getting it back should he ever sell?
 
#15
One of the things that is getting me with this is that I have done search and I cant find a P 5 for under $1200..... So that is making me think.. I know that my Jazz bass will be played so that is kind of a consolation to me.. I am still thinking...
 
#17
I sold my first bass a few years ago (a '75 P bass) and though I felt a few pangs about selling it, I knew I could get a newer bass that was as good or better. It's not like I was playing it. It would have just sat under my bed or in my closet and not get any use. An instrument is meant to be played, and if you're not using it, why keep it?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back